Warm Up In Memphis This Winter

Published on MemphisTravel.com
February 2017

Warm Up In Memphis This Winter

Winter is a relative term in Memphis, where we can deliver nearly year round patio weather. However, during our occasional stretches of cooler temps, there are plenty of tasty ways to warm your belly.

Soups and Noodles

You can find plenty of Asian restaurants in midtown if spicy, fragrant soups are what you have in mind: think Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, and Chinese.

Crazy Noodle (2015 Madison) is a sweet little place tucked in just down the street from Overton Square. They have an amazing variety of ramen as well as Korean favorites like manduguk, which features Korean dumplings, flat rice cakes, cabbage, carrots, onions, shiitakes, and zucchini. It’s stirred with an egg and topped with seaweed.

Shanghai’s (1400 Poplar) magic tofu curry soup, also known as T12, is sure to cure whatever ails you, or just improve analready good day. Phuong Long (306 Cleveland) has fresh and delicious pho. Jasmine (916 S. Cooper) has perfected Thai favorites tom ka and tom yum and has one of the best hot and sour soups in town.

Finally, if you can catch a Lucky Cat Ramen pop up you absolutely should. They’ve taken ramen to a fine dining level.

If you are looking for a more traditional soup to stick to your bones, then get a bowl of Huey’s hearty potato soup. (Go ahead, get a burger too.) If chili is your thing, The Young Avenue Deli has a great veggie option and the Belle Tavern’s signature bowl is made with beef tenderloin.

La Baguette’s spicy tomato soup is the perfect match for their fresh baguettes. Tart’s Onion Soup Gratinee will literally make your mouth water. Finally, for the ultimate chicken soup fix, try Maciel’s sublime Chicken Chipotle Soup (listed as Caldo Tlalpeno).

Winter-Friendly Menus

When you are all souped up, or if you are souped out, head to Tsunami for a plate of the warm red cabbage salad with blue cheese and walnuts. The Cuban menu at Los Compadres (3295 Poplar) features Puerco Asada, also known as seriously delicious braised meat.

The mussels at Café 1912 come with bread for sopping up the sauce you’d drink from the bowl if no one was looking. Pete & Sam’s has a perfectly sized lasagna for one. Dino’s Grill has a really, really good chicken and spinach ravioli with authentic Italian gravy. Finally, Catherine & Mary’s grilled quail with polenta, pancetta and maitake ragu is one of the most satisfying dishes in town.

Cozy Up By The Fire

If fire is what you seek, Memphis has you covered. Mortimer’s has a full on fireplace (replete with mantle and fake books) adjacent to the bar. Have a bowl of gumbo and stay awhile. Le Chardonnay also has a fireplace with a couch if pizza is what you seek. Or sit at the bar by the pizza oven over at Bosco’s. The Madison Hotel’s Twilight Sky Terrace lights up their rooftop fire pits during cooler weather, too.

If that’s not enough fire, try Loflin Yard. Not only do they have fire pits set up, they sell DIY s’mores. You can also make your own s’mores indoors at the Kooky Canuck right on your table. But if just a small amount of fire sounds right, then you might also try the city’s oldest hibachi at Nagasaki Inn. Midtown’s newest Korean hotspot, DWJ #2 (2156 Young) lets you do the tableside cooking. Finally, a sizzling volcanic bowl of Bi Bim Bop from Kwik Chek should hit the spot.

Liquid Warmth

Wintertime liquid refreshments are the best. Stop by the Cove and have them whip up a hot toddy suited to your particular tastes. Casablanca has the best tea in town, which just happens to be sweetened with Wolf River honey. Order it hot! City & State’s Salted Caramel Latte is also a guaranteed warmer upper. (You can even get it with a slice of pie.) And no winter would be complete without at least cup of hot chocolate from Café Eclectic.